Around The Bay We Go!

What happens when you try and steal an unsuspecting couple's pumpkin-herb bread off their table? You get invited to take a boat ride around Akaroa Harbour, of course!

Last night we decide to treat ourselves to a final NZ dinner out at The Little Bistro in Akaroa and meet Bill and Joan from Christchurch at the table next to us. When Jenn teases them about pinching their bread while their heads are turned, this naturally sparks up a conversation (why not?) and they share with us stories of their travels to eastern Europe, including a few dicey situations in Russia and Bosnia.

"Give us a dingle tomorrow, and if the weather's nice, we'll give you a boat ride around the bay," says Bill only an hour after meeting us. "You can see the Hector's dolphins."

Jenn's turn to squeal.

And so the next morning, it is a little breezy, but the sun is out and we give them a call. (Travel rule #1 — if we're invited to do something and the inviters seem nice and safe enough, we do it!)

"Meet us at the wharf with the little house in Akaroa in a quarter hour," instructs Bill. "We'll be the blue boat with the black dog." Dolphins and now dogs — we're in! We pile on our layers (there is that nip in the air again!) and head down the hill from our campsite to meet them.

The black dog is a poodle named Czesky — the boat, a comfy six seater outboard and minutes after stepping down off the wharf into the boat, we are pounding through the chop, along the big cliffs of the peninsula and straight out towards the Pacific.
















The views are once again stunning.







We head from Akaroa Harbour, past the settlement of Onuku and all the way out to Te Ruahine point which is comprised of high cliffs and deep caves holding petrels nesting and resting on the ledges.





























Hey, are those dolphins over there? Don't tell Jenn...

From there, it's out into the Pacific and on to Akaroa Head where the old lighthouse once sat.














Then, we sped around the corner to a beautiful inlet, filled with seals and a waterfall at the end.





















On our way back into the harbour, we again spot the Hector's dolphins, which are smaller than the Duskys we've seen up in Kaikoura. Bill masterfully eases the boat alongside and they play tag up front by the bow, jumping into the air for us — our own private show!













It's a bumpy ride back through more chop (we get airborne more than once) and then a tour around the other end of the harbour to the small settlements of Wainui, Tikao, French Farm, Robinson's Bay (where their bach is located) past Takamatua and returning to the wharf at





















We have quickly come to appreciate the beauty of Banks Peninsula and seeing more of it from the water is SUCH a special treat. Once again, the kindness and welcoming of people overwhelms us.




















Oh wait, it's not done...

We stop by Bill and Joan's bach later in the afternoon (they invited us, we promise). Bill is just coming up from setting his flounder nets out in the bay and Joan takes us down to have a look from the beach. It is around 5pm, and the afternoon colours are highlighting the hills to artistic effect. Their bach affords an expansive view of Robinson's Bay and beyond and sitting outside on their deck cloaks us in serenity.














That fall chill is still in the air, so we soon move inside where their oversized windows perfectly frame that can't-get-enough view. We could have a yarn with these two for ages, yet the time flies by and soon the sun is dropping down behind the banks of the Banks. Bill and Joan walk us back up the road to our camper and we wave a fond goodbye. How can we possibly thank these lovely folks enough?

Tonight the clocks turn back giving us an extra hour on our last full day in New Zealand. A small goodbye gift from this wonderful country as it extends itself to us yet again.

Okains Bay

Having received a tip from a gal in Akaroa, we head over to Okains Bay to visit the Maori and Colonial Museum. As far as we can figure, the museum has the most extensive collection of Maori artifacts in the whole of the South Island and it is a real treat to take our time and wander through.









If you are in New Zealand make sure to go and support this underfunded treasure — heck a cup of tea is included in the admission price! It truly was one of the best museums we've been to.











We lunch down at the beach in the lovely scenic reserve and then take a walk along the old wharf road. No wharfs actually exist in Okains Bay now — although there are remnants of them left to be viewed.











We watch a small blow hole spout water as the tide comes in and then, thankfully, the sun finally makes an appearance and we are at last able to shed our toques and mittens (yes, fall is here now!).

We take the scenic Summit Road drive back to Akaroa along the top ridge. Spectacular views await our eyes at every turn!



After setting ourselves up in a prime spot at the campsite, we walk down into town to mail some postcards. In the lovely park there, we meet another four legged friend who is happy to oblige with some snuggling!




On our way home, Keir stops at a small cafe and decides on the spot that this is where we will have our last special meal out in New Zealand. He makes a reservation and dabs away the drool.

The Little Bistro is a treat for sure. Small (room for about 24 people in total) and intimate and abounding with good smells, we indulge in our last meal out.








What a scrumptious meal it is! The chef is originally from Wales and moved here to raise his family with his Kiwi born wife. This fellow knows what he is doing. The pumpkin, leek and pea risotto is gorgeous and the sweet and sour blackberry dessert "soup" is sublime. Our kind server even brings over some homemade fijoia liqueur — this stuff is better than limoncello!

Thankfully, we chose to walk down from our campsite so we enjoy a lovely night walk back stargazing and looking down on the twinkly town of Akaroa from above. Sweet dreams indeed!

Banks Peninsula (The Chili Pot)

According to Maori lore, while Maui was fishing one day, so mighty was his struggle to reel in a giant stingray, his waka (canoe) capsized. It is his overturned boat that now forms the South Island while the captured stingray became the North Island.

Kyle, our Abel Tasman kayak guide, described the oddly positioned Banks Peninsula east of Christchurch on the South Island as a pot of chili from Maui's waka that landed upside down beside the boat.

Named Banks Peninsula by Captain Cook in recognition of his accompanying egotistical botanist, Joseph Banks, (the Chili Pot name never quite caught on...), the area is a sharp contrast in terrain from the flat, flat land of the Canterbury Plains. Formed by three volcanoes, the peninsula is constructed of tall green hills, deep valleys and small bays leading out to the Pacific ocean. It contends as some of the best scenery in all of NZ.




After the earthquake in Christchurch, Jenn and I are uncertain whether we are able to (or should) visit the peninsula. But the locals assure us all is well and things are safe, so we venture out for a look-see. We are so very glad we did.

Dotted in many of the small bays are towns — Robinson's Bay, Okains Bay, Duvauchelle, Le Bons Bay, and the larger (slightly) settlement of Akaroa.
Originally intended to be a French settlement — before the British put an end to that — Akaroa still maintains some of its French roots with quaint streets bearing French names and shops playing up the francophone theme.




Our biggest and most pleasant surprise is how undeveloped the town of Akaroa and the entire Peninsula region is. Being only an hour from Christchurch (the largest city on the South Island) we anticipate finding what we discovered on the Queen Charlotte Sounds — large holiday homes filling the landscape and bays. Instead, we find holiday homes, some of them large, in the small settlements, but overall a vastly unspoiled area with terrific views and a very relaxed atmosphere.

Our campsite sells us from the outset — located at the top of the hill and overlooking the harbor and Akaroa, it is small, has great amenities and the songs of bell birds in the trees, something you don't always hear once the stoats and possums move in.

We spend some time looking around the town, checking out the small galleries and shops and then sussing out any walks that might be good to do. We eat our dinner out on a picnic table at the campsite, amused by the "just arrived in NZ" British couple bickering as they try to figure out how to work their new camper van. Two and half months ago, that was us.

The view of the bay below, bathed in the orange glow of a sunset, diverts our attention. For a place we were uncertain about and that still gets a few small shakes, it has a remarkably peaceful energy.




"I think we should just stay here for the next few days," I say to Jenn.

She nods. "Fine with me."

Tasmania & Argentina Full On!

It's official — the Expedia servers finally cranked out an itinerary and flight schedule that works with our budget and we're leaving NZ next week — first to Tasmania for two weeks and then hopping back over the Pacific (13 hours of flying, can't wait for that...) to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

It came together all too easily, so we're taking that as a sign — go with the flow and the flight deals.

Mui bueno!

Willaby Wallaby Woo

This town is crazy. Downright wacky and filled with the most fascinating folk we've yet encountered. Our visit to Waimate's EnkleDooVery Korna, where Gwen Dempster-Schouten's orphaned wallabies live, is no exception.







Wallabies are considered a pest round these parts and are oft made into Wallaby Pie, but not here at Gwen's safe haven. Many, if not all, of the 70 plus wallabies that call EnkleDooVery Korna home have been hand raised from wee babies (when they were tacked up in cotton sacks substituting as pouches on her kitchen wall).




Wallabies of all ages (one year to sixteen years of age) live in enclosures that she has built. Some live alone (like the elderly blind fellow) and some live with buddies (like the Bachelor Boys, the Shy Sheilas, and the Luckless Trifecta) in the dozen or so enclosures. The idea is, you take a leisurely wander through all the pens doling out treats and patting the wallabies as you go.




I think it is us who get the treat though, patting and chatting to these affable little creatures!







Back at the main office area Gwen treats us to a visit with her baby possum Stella and the Elf owl Bailey.







We also spend a good half hour touring the main level of the house that is chock full of family (and otherwise collected, amassed and hoarded) memorabilia. Each area is laid out in a certain way - the Trapper's House, the Fair Lady's parlor, the whiskey distilling area - with Gwen dramatically and entertainingly spinning tall tales of their imagined lives.






Gwen clearly marches to the beat of her own drum. Firecracker might be the word to describe her. She is eccentric and boisterous and completely captivating to be around. You hang on every word she says — really! She grew up on a mountain farm down alongside the Fiordlands, raising from a very young age, birds and any other creatures she could get her hands on. The fire was in her to help animals and she was hell bent on making it happen for her! So moving to Waimate area (the only area in all of New Zealand with wallabies in it) seemed the perfect setting to her. I get the sense that we get to see and hear about 10% only of the fantastical stuff that gets dreamt up in her head. She is like a human iceberg with 90% of the "content" hidden from view.

That 10% though - WOW.




P.S. This is me holding a bag-o-possum!